How do you generate buzz for your pitch and presentation?

In my experience ‘knowing your audience’ is first priority because the ‘the soft factors’ are really the hard factors creating management buy-in. I like to share with you ‘15 Principles of Winning Buy-in: - Pick the right moment - Spark a culture for innovation - Create an eco-system for change - Align to Strategy - Co-decide the assignment - WEnovate instead of Innovate - Pick the right team - Create Godfathers - Use proven methods - Crowdsource ideas - De-risk everything - Bring back business - Get customer buy-in - Think outside the box and present inside the box - Make a convincing pitch Wishing you lots of success, Gijs

Rather than know your audience, I prefer the concept of talk to your audience. That might mean anecdotal small group surveys; or may be a larger, cohort, pulse, survey or, if possible, and budget allows it means a large sample size interactive communication over a period of time. Whatever your capability, two way communication is critical for an optimal product<>market fit

You can't have universal pitch. Investors are different and each one of them have something to take into account and use to gain positive feedback.

To generate buzz for a big pitch, we pull out all the stops. Our hype machine kicks into overdrive, cranking out teasers and trailers across social media. We "accidentally" leak a few sneak peeks to drum up speculation. Right before the main event, we have an army of interns blanket the area, passing out swag and pumping up the crowd. When it's finally time for the big reveal, the audience is practically buzzing with anticipation. We walk on stage to a deafening roar and launch into a presentation that blows the roof off. The crowd goes wild - our buzz campaign was a huge success! Now we just have to keep the buzz going.

A hook should be dramatic, not just surprising or intriguing. That's how you grab most of attention throughout your pitch. Like in real drama, having drama elements - plot (Problem slide), characters (Team slide), spectacle, diction, melody - all create even larger effect than just hook.

Be Innovative but act Conservative. NOBODY BUYS FROM A CLOWN. I have seen many innovative people present new business ideas in very original ways: playing a movie, doing a dance, and even by doing a flash mob. But it is wise to keep in mind that your executives are still as conservative as ever. Once you accept the risk-averse culture you can be effective. Your idea will be evaluated from at least 4 perspectives: 1. The Customer: Will they like it? 2. The Business model: Will it be profitable? 3. The Technology: Can it be produced? 4. The Risk: What if it's a failure? So draft a new business case: a clear, strategic, commercial, professional, and financial plan for your innovative initiative. It strengthens your persuasiveness.

The best ideas are usually told from the customer perspective. They way to hook or captivate your audience is so much easier if you can let them understand the problem you are solving through the customers eyes.

The key to connecting the dots for the audience is knowing that in their mind they are asking themselves the following: Why this particular problem? Why this team? Why does this need to be done now? What makes you so special compared to everyone else ?

It's been my experience that the best demos are short, sweet and visual. I would suggest keeping them under one minute. The best ones i have seen are 30 seconds and leave the audience wanting more.

One great way to engage your audience is to include actual customer testimonials in your deck. Everyone loves to see what your customers are saying about you, your product and why the use it.

One of my favorite pieces of advice for founders when it comes to practicing their pitch ?? 1. Order your investor hit list from who you want to raise money from the most down to the ones you least want money from 2. Work from the bottom to the top, starting with investors you don’t necessarily want to raise money from Why? Well, practice makes perfect. Each investor you put your pitch in front of will have feedback and questions. The more interactions like this you get, the more prepared you become. So this way, you are refined and polished once you make it to your ideal investor!